Instructions: Paper should be approximately 3000 words (10 pages). Students are expected to write an essay that will link a country study to the theme: populism as a hidden face of democracy, a road to authoritarianism. Students are expected to explore additional sources. The rule of thumb is two references per page – a minimum of ten references for the final essay. Your work must be carefully written and supported by direct evidence from the available data and citations to existing peer-reviewed research from books and journals. You should use the Chicago-style footnote reference system to support your written work.
Prompt: develop a thesis for how populism poses a threat to democracy using Venezuela as a case study; use Weyland’s theory of populism as a strategy and levitsky and zabalt’s framework to analyze.
- I also got feed back that Laura Gambo’s chapter on Chavez in her book Resisting Backsliding could be helpful aswell
Here is some background information I developed that may be useful to you but you are not required to use all of it if it does not fit with the overall thesis.
Populism is defined in various ways but often centres on the idea of advocating for the interests and powers of “the people” against a perceived elite or establishment. Mudde and Kaltwasser posit that populism is an ideology that sees society divided into two homogenous and antagonistic groups: “the pure people” vs “the corrupt elite,” advocating for politics to express the general will of the people. This definition places populism within a liberal democratic context, fostering the illusion that the acquisition of power is dependent on popularity with the people and that control mechanisms exist to remove populist actors who fail to meet societal demands.
Use of Populist Strategy
The strategic mobilization of mass support was a key feature of Chavismo, reflecting Weyland’s analysis of populism as a political strategy, where state resources and direct appeals are used to maintain and consolidate power amidst the pressures of globalization. The use of social missions and state control over the oil industry to finance social programs demonstrates a pragmatic approach to sustaining populist support while attempting to mitigate the impacts of global economic policies on Venezuela. Moreover, Chavismo’s response to globalization is also rooted in Laclau’s framework of constructing a populist identity through discursive antagonisms against neoliberal global forces creating an ‘us vs them’ narrative that galvanized support among “the people”. The articulation of anti-imperialist and anti-neoliberal rhetoric serves as a rallying point for diverse social groups, utilizing empty signifiers like “socialism of the 21st century” to unify supporters under a broad populist agenda.
Halmai notes that authoritarian populist’s distinguish themselves via claims to represent the will of the people, critique established institutions, and use nationalistic and sometimes xenophobic narratives to solidify support. Particularly, authoritarian populists often come to power through democratic elections but then manipulate laws and institutions to maintain control. Chavez employed this strategy by using referenda to remove term limits on all elected officials and alter and rewrite the Constitution.
Weak and ineffective democratic institutions – Lack of Checks and Balances
Arguably a key factor in the shift from democracy to authoritarianism has been facilitated by the manipulation of judicial structures and the undermining of democratic norms. Kornblith concurs that Venezuela, once celebrated for its democratic stability, underwent significant political and institutional transformations under Chavez, leading to an “electoral authoritarian” regime under Maduro’s presidency. Currently, Venezuela lacks separation of powers and its absence can be attributed to the use of the Constitution as a manipulative tool, and the unfettered ability of the President to control the political arena via executive order has resulted in a weak and unresponsive Judiciary.
- But my feedback was that I needed to make my thesis more defined and clarify the theoretical framework to which I will be analysing populism in Venezuela with